Queen’s Baton Relay 2022: when will Commonwealth Games race pass Liverpool, full UK route, what is it for?

Commonwealth Games season is fast approaching, which means the preceding Queen’s Baton Relay is set to commence very soon.

The famous relay - the longest of its kind - is renowned for travelling the depth and breadth of the globe.

There will be thousands of different baton bearers carrying the famous artefact throughout a region - many consider this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games - which will commence on Thursday, 28 July in 2022 - full details are slowly being released regarding the preceding Queen’s Baton Relay.

What is the meaning of the relay? What is the full UK route and when should Liverpool and the Merseyside region expect it to pay a visit? Here is everything you need to know about The Queen’s Baton Relay in 2022.

What is the Queen’s Baton Relay?

The Queen’s Baton Relay is a race that has been at the core of the Commonwealth Games for over 60 years.

Launched in 1958 to prelude the event held in Cardiff, the Queen’s Baton Relay has become a tradition that has made it one of the longest of its kind in the world.

It is a way to celebrate the Commonwealth’s diversity whilst inspiring community pride and solidarity, as well as spotlighting sport as a tool to bring people together.

The baton will carry a message from Queen Elizabeth II herself, travelling the world until it reaches the host city of the year’s Commonwealth Games.

Here, the message from the Queen will be read out to signify the commencement of the event.

There is a new Baton created for every Commonwealth Games and it is designed by the country hosting it.

This year’s Baton for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games was specially crafted by designers and technologists from the West Midlands.

When does it start?

The Queen placed her message in the baton from Buckingham Palace on 7 October 2021.

To coincide with the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee Weekend - which is not expected to have the best weather - The Queen’s Baton Relay kicks off on Thursday, 2 June.

It will spend five days in London before resuming its international journey - returning to the British shores on Monday 4 July.

When will the race pass Liverpool?

The baton is set to grace Liverpool City Region when it passes through Knowsley on Sunday, 17 July.

The Queen’s Baton will begin the Knowsley leg of its journey at Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park, Huyton where it will be met by sporting groups who will be hosting displays and demonstrations.

The baton will then move in a convoy to Knowsley Safari Park, where it will be carried through the Foot Safari before making its way into Prescot town centre.

The Baton will be carried down Eccleston Street to the newly opened Shakespeare North Playhouse. Following a short trip through the theatre and performance garden, the Queen’s Baton Relay will conclude its Knowsley journey on Prospero Place with a special celebration.

It will then head into Liverpool on Monday, 18 July before heading off for a final stretch in-and-around the West Midlands area.

As a whole; here are the other cities and towns that it will visit on that date:

• Liverpool
• Keele
• Newcastle-under-Lyme
• Kidsgrove
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Shrewsbury

The route has been designed to make sure that the baton will pass huge historical monuments related to the location it visits.

What is the full UK route of the relay?

Before the baton commences its 25-day tour of the United Kingdom, it ventures around the world, especially some former British territories such as the Falklands Islands, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

After joining in on the celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee, the relay will start in London, passing through thousands of baton bearers before arriving in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games.

Here is a full list of the route of The Queen’s Baton Relay 2022:

• 2 June - 6 June: London
• 4 July: (South West) St Austell, Plymouth, Exeter, Portland and Weymouth, Poole and Bournemoth
• 5 July: (South West) Devizes, Bath, Bristol, Easter Compton, Hereford, Gloucester, Cheltenham
• 6 July: (South East) Stoke Mandeville, Maidenhead, Eton and Windsor, Aldershot, Winchester, Hambleton, Southampton and Portsmouth
• 7 July: (South East) Guildford, Tonbridge, Canterbury, Folkestone, Deal and Dover
• 8 July: (East England) Gravesend, Tilbury, Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Maldon, Waltham Cross, Luton and Hemel Hempstead
• 9 July: (East England) King’s Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Bury St Edmunds, Hinxton and Cambridge
• 10 July: (East Midlands) Northampton, Corby, Rutland, Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln
• 11 July: (East Midlands) Skegness, Boston, Grantham, Loughborough, Derby, Bakewell, Matlock and Buxton
• 12 July: (Yorkshire and The Humber) Sheffield, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds
• 13 July: (Yorkshire and The Humber) Hull, Beverley, Market Weighton, York, Malton, Scarborough, Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby
• 14 July: (North East) Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Redcar, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington, Durham, Seaham and Sunderland
• 15 July: (North East) South Shields, Whitley Bay, Blyth, Alnwick, Gateshead and Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• 16 July: (North West) Carlisle, Lake District, Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton
• 17 July: (North West) Salford, Manchester, Stockport, Northwich, Wigan and Knowsley
• 18 July: (NW and West Midlands) Liverpool, Keele, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent and Shrewsbury
• 19 July: (West Midlands) Ironbridge, Telford, Newport, Lilleshall, Stafford, Stone, Rudyard and Leek
• 20 July: (West Midlands) Uttoxeter, Burton upon Trent, Lichfield, Burntwood, Chasewater, and Tamworth
• 23 July: (West Midlands) Redditch, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Bridgnorth, Codsall, Rugeley, Hednesford, Cannock and Walsall
• 24 July: (West Midlands) Wolverhampton, Halesowen, Stourbridge, Dudley, Brierley Hill

What have organisers said about the event?

Ian Reid, Chief Executive of Birmingham 2022, issued the following statement on the official website: “Whilst the Baton has been travelling across the Commonwealth, we have worked closely with Local Authorities in England to devise a route that engages with hundreds of communities, passing sport venues, historic sites, local schools and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

“Yet the Queen’s Baton Relay is far more than just a journey, it symbolises connecting people from every corner of the Commonwealth, celebrates Batonbearers who take on challenges, and marks the countdown to the biggest sporting event in West Midlands history.

“And by the time the Baton returns to England for the final leg, 71 nations and territories will have already experienced the magic that comes with it.”